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Part 2: What on Earth is DFID doing about water?

Related pages:  Ten top facts about water | Part One: What on Earth is DFID doing about water? | Millennium Development Goal on water

This page contains more detail about DFID's priorities on water, and links to more resources.

Alongside the Global call to action on water and sanitation, DFID is now developing a major push on water resources management.

The problem is daunting: we need to bring clean water to 300,000 people and sanitation to 450,000 people each day, every day, for the next ten years, if we are going to meet the Millennium Development Goal targets.

Most of DFID’s country programme spending on water and sanitation supports governments, not-for-profit or humanitarian agencies. Our overall spending will double to £95 million a year by 2008 and will double it again to £200 million by 2011.

DFID's efforts are now focused on three main things: invest more money in water and sanitation; ensure that money is spent effectively and fairly; and put the right structures in place to make progress. For more, read the 2007 update of our action plan(851 kb)

• Look atDevelopments Magazine's water wall-chart for an overview of why water matters

• Better water, better life: Gareth Thomas meeting our promises to avert the global water crisis (7 March, 2007)

• Global reforms needed to meet water promises (22 March, 2006)

• UK recognises right to water (9 November, 2006)

Case studies on water aid in action:

	Cleaner water in DR Congo Mama Sophie Mena talks about the difference a water pump made to her everyday life.		A better life for a thirsty village No more long hikes for the Kenyan villagers who helped to get water flowing
	Equitable irrigation in Nepal How did research help poor farmers to get their hands on a reliable supply of water? (Research4Development website)		Southern Iraq's school for leaks How did 500,000 people in Basra get more and better water?

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Links

• The four countries that are most off-track to meet water and sanitation targets are Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Sudan. More about DFID poverty reduction targets
• Read about our multi-million pound partnership with WaterAid.
• WaterAid homepage
• UN World Water Day
• DFID'sResearch for Development website for details of water and environment-related research.
• UK International Development Committee inquiry into water and sanitation
   
• DFID Factsheet – Water and Sanitation(234 kb)
• Read the 2007 update of our Water Action Plan(851 kb)
• Why we need a global action plan on water and sanitation(610 kb)
• Keeping our promises: A second update on DFID’s work in water and sanitation since the Water Action Plan(70 kb)
• Water Action Plan(98 kb), a DFID Policy Paper, March 2004

21 March, 2007